Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs I v. Attorney General New Jersey
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Reversed in Part
Sitting en banc, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey’s 1990 Assault Firearm and Large-Capacity Magazine provisions violate the Second Amendment under the history-and-tradition test of Bruen. Although the district court had invalidated the ban only as applied to Colt-manufactured AR-15s, the Court ruled that all semi-automatic rifles covered by the Act are protected; it therefore struck down the rifle ban, reversed the district court’s approval of the magazine limit, and remanded for further proceedings. The Court rejected the Takings Clause challenge but modified the judgment and left other weapon categories for the district court to consider.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether state laws that ban civilian possession of AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles and/or magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds violate the Second Amendment after N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen.
Circuit Positions
Assault-weapon and large-capacity-magazine bans are consistent with the Second Amendment and may be enforced.
Assault-weapon and large-capacity-magazine bans violate the Second Amendment because the covered arms are ‘in common use’ for lawful purposes.
Conflict Summary
Six circuits (1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th and D.C.) have upheld state or local bans on semiautomatic rifles (or large-capacity magazines) as consistent with the Second Amendment, whereas the 3d Circuit, in this opinion, strikes down New Jersey’s analogous prohibitions.